Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group set a $156.00 price target on shares of Popular in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Popular from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on Popular from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Popular from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Popular in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Popular currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.73.

Popular Trading Up 1.0%

BPOP opened at $142.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.63. Popular has a 12-month low of $78.23 and a 12-month high of $145.34. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.37.

Popular (NASDAQ:BPOP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.36. Popular had a return on equity of 13.87% and a net margin of 18.75%.The firm had revenue of $815.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $811.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Popular will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Popular Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Popular’s payout ratio is 24.35%.

Insider Activity at Popular

In other Popular news, VP Adorno Denissa Rodriguez sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.84, for a total value of $114,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $299,043.36. This trade represents a 27.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard L. Carrion sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.50, for a total value of $2,837,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 193,020 shares in the company, valued at $21,907,770. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 28,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,265,040 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BPOP. Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Popular by 2.5% during the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,597 shares of the bank’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in Popular by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 17,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its stake in Popular by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 9,579 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Popular by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,267 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,115,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Popular by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,671 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.27% of the company’s stock.

Popular News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Popular this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded BPOP to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and highlighted the bank across its value, income and new-strong-buy lists — a coordinated upgrade that can attract momentum, buy-side attention and inflows. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets and a “fair value” reset have shifted the narrative on BPOP, reinforcing the bull case and likely supporting multiple expansion after the company’s recent earnings beat and raised forward expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note BPOP has hit a 52-week high and examine whether the run can continue; useful stock‑momentum context but not new fundamental news. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider filing: Alejandro Ballester sold 2,360 shares. Size is modest relative to market cap and recent volume, so this is more housekeeping than a clear negative signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Separate headline risk: an unrelated ice-cream chain named “Popular” filed Chapter 11 — could create short-term search/headline confusion but does not reflect Popular, Inc.’s fundamentals. Market impact from this is likely minimal but may cause noise. Read More.

Popular Company Profile

Popular, Inc, headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a financial holding company and a leading provider of banking services in the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiaries—Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Popular Bank—the company delivers comprehensive commercial and consumer banking solutions. It offers deposit products, lending facilities, cash management services and payment-processing solutions designed for individuals, small businesses and large corporations.

The company’s product suite encompasses checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial mortgage loans, business lines of credit and credit cards.